Sheriff: Smoked marijuana is not medicine

St Johns County’s sheriff, David Shoar, is in Amelia Island attending this year’s winter conference of the Florida Sheriff’s Association, the organization representing Florida’s 66 elected sheriffs and Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Shoar, who is this year’s Association president, says he, and other sheriffs in the state, have not changed their position on medical marijuana — it does not belong in Florida’s Constitution.

“I tell you, I think as a society we’ve got to be careful,” Shoar told reporters. “We should not set a lower standard for use of marijuana as a form of medical treatment.”

Shoar reaffirmed the Sheriff’s Association position that smoked marijuana is not medicine. During a voice-vote a year ago, those sheriffs attending the conference opposed Amendment 2 by a 38-2 margin. The ballot initiative gathered 58 percent of the vote, falling short of the 60 percent needed to amend the Constitution.

The Florida Sheriffs Association says it is willing to work with lawmakers in developing a law that helps those truly in need while not increasing the supply of marijuana that drives drug addiction.